Technical Analysis

Winemaking

The grapes were destemmed and crushed, had a plunged, warm fermentation and following pressing the wine was transferred to 225 litre oak barrels for maturation until November 1999. During this time the wine was topped, racked, blended and egg white fined. 1998 Awatea Cabernet Merlot will continue to improve in bottle for 8-12 years from harvest.

Vineyards

These grape varieties were hand picked between the 23rd March and the 18th April.

Origin

Awatea takes its name from the legendary ship SS Awatea (a Maori word meaning ‘Eye of the Dawn’) that sailed the Auckland - Sydney - Wellington route in the late 1930’s. The Awatea was requisitioned as a troop transport in WWII and was sunk off Algeria in 1942.